Festa do Espirito Santo - Feast of the Holy Spirit

The city of Newark celebrated Festa do Espirito Santo or Feast of the Holy Spirit. A Portuguese tradition dating back to the 14th Century. Many young girls play the role of Queen or Side Maid for their community. This began in honoring Queen Isabella who used to hide food and take it to feed the poor. She was known for many miracles throughout her lifetime and her ability to restore peace.





The day usually begins with a parade to the local Catholic Church from the reception hall. The parade is full of Queens, bands and family members. Family is very important in the Portuguese community and it shows in the parade and the weekends events. A meal for the community is later served free of charge, a reflection of how Queen Isabella fed the people of Portugal. Afternoon auctions continue for several hours until a dance with a Portuguese band closes the night.


Take a look at these capes. They are each so unique and beautiful. All are hand beaded and often are reflection of their community.

To see the full gallery visit www.viewyourpic.com

Fouth of July

Happy Birthday America!

Today we had a great time in Mendocino for their annual Fourth of July celebration which includes a parade and street festivities. The New England style village is a place where everyone knows everyone.....except of course for the many tourists that flock to this
beautiful coastal all American Main Street.

We hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Fourth of July!

San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration - Unite

Hello all,

Well we just returned from the San Francisco Pride Parade and had such a fabulous time!! Okay, where do we begin? The weather was great for most of the day, it seems that the fog came in at just the right time. Kinda as if it was closing the curtain on such a great day... in a very cold way.

What we loved about the weekend was the openness and the pride that was exhibited by people of all colors and backgrounds. The city begins the month of June lining Market street from the Castro District to the Embarcadero with Rainbow flags. The entire month is filled with gay pride events with the main focus being the Pride Parade. Doing it as only San Francisco can, of course!. The parade has over 300 entries. Each float more flamboyant than the one prior. Everyone comes out to support their relatives, friends and neighbors, just over a million people to be exact.

The recent court case leaving it open for same sex couples to marry was highlighted everywhere. We were able to catch a few weddings right in front of city hall. A couple that traveled in from Argentina just to get married and another couple together with their son by their side exchanged vows. It was so moving and a real honor to witness such love finally being set free. We made sure to vow to vote NO on the marriage ban on the November ballot. We hope you vow to do the same.

XOXOX - Julene

New website directly to the events page!

We are proud to announce the launch of http://www.viewyourpic.com/.
It is a direct link to our current events page which soon will be sorted monthly. We are excited about many new events coming up for the month of June and can't wait to post new pics of people on the streets. Don't forget to book mark http://www.viewyourpic.com/and check back often, you might just see a pic of you on the site!

New Equipment - SB-800 flash.

We can't wait to get our hands on the new SB 800 strobe to replace the SB 28, now my flash can communicate directly with my camera for properly balanced fill light. We are looking forward to trying some strobist off-camera lighting techniques too, more for our fashion and model photography than our events but fun none the less.

New photos up on Myspace

We posted new photos from last weeks events on myspace. Don't forget to leave a comment. We are always interested in making new friends.

www.myspace.com/lamophoto

Bay to Breakers, San Francisco

Wow, what a year this was!! We arrived a bit late and hung towards the back of the crowd but the fun costumes and characters never seemed to end. A few of our favorites were the animal band, group of Elvis's and Glenda with the Wicked Witch in the park. The arrest in the panhandle led to some great photos as well. The crowd was chanting "let him go" to the police who were leading away one of the partiers, the group of police jumped off their bikes very fast to calm the scene and it was over quickly. The whole event was very entertaining. We didn't finish this year but came pretty close. I think the pics we were able to get were worth the delay in our time. Hope you feel the same.